One Motorsport lived up to its name with each of its West Coast drivers taking wins, while Team Stradale dominated the 1340 class and WISKO Racing’s Richard Thomas commenced his 1500 class title defense.
Olsen quick in 1500 and quicker in Masters
Late last year Olsen captured the eye of Radical Texas team principal Ian Dawson, who recruited him alongside American Formula Atlantic star Spencer Brockman for the Radical Texas Young Driver Program. During the final round of the Radical European Masters, Olsen had his first taste of modern Radical SR3 RSX machinery at Jerez, Spain where he led almost all of the season finale. However the Junior Team Norway member and karting and Formula Basic champion was no stranger to Radicals, having won the 2016 Radical Cup Scandinavia.
The two young guns immediately made their presence felt at Road Atlanta, qualifying first and third in the competitive 1500 class– critically outpacing 2016 class champion Richard Thomas– to sit fourth and sixth on a grid made up of drivers from every region of the United States as well as Canada and Brazil.
As race one commenced Thomas’s experience allowed him to find a way around the pair in turn one to chase Shahin Mobine up the hill for the first time. Brockman also got the jump on polesitter Olsen before the unthinkable happened. Caught out by cold tires Brockman spun, his rear wing clipping that of Olsen. With identical damage the pair were forced to retire, which left Shahin and Thomas to battle it out for the race one win. After running wide numerous times in an attempt to keep Thomas at bay, Mobine’s car succumbed to an accumulation of grass starving his radiators of fresh air. This left WISKO Racing’s Thomas to cruise to victory over Monticello Motor Club member Joe Robillard and One Motorsport’s Ethan Stone.
Overnight, a decision was made by Radical Texas to swap Olsen into the faster Masters Class for the rest of the season. For the weekend’s remaining two races he would now be driving an SR8 chassis powered by Radical’s bespoke 405bhp 2.7L V8 engine. This meant Olsen, whose first sighting of Road Atlanta was Friday morning, would start race two from the back of the grid. Not that it flustered the Norwegian newcomer– by lap three he was in third place.
Reeling off lap times faster than all three of race one’s podium place getters– Jesse Menczer, Jim Booth and Peter Heffring– Olsen secured pole position for the final race. However, like in Jerez, a Masters series win remained elusive. Just as he closed on Menczer’s gearbox he ran wide on the exit of Turn 12. Not lifting, Olsen looked like a Scandinavian rally champion as he successfully wrestled the car away from the wall, but the opportunity had passed. A full-course caution meant Olsen would have to settle for second behind reigning class champion Jesse Menczer. Nevertheless, passing twenty-one cars was an impressive feat, and earned Olsen one of the three Gulf Racing Fuels ‘Legend in the making’ awards presented during the weekend. Jim Booth earned another podium for WISKO Racing, finishing third in class.
Setting the fastest lap in race two meant pole position for race three, but again lady luck was not on his side. Olsen’s rear diffuser failed, likely as a result from damage caused by his excursion in race two, again leaving Jesse Menczer to continue his winning streak, this time from Jim Booth and Peter Heffring. While not earning the trophy he deserved Olsen had earned the respect of everyone in the paddock, even his rival.
“I’m absolutely relishing the competition he’s providing,” commented Menczer. “He was on it. I wanted a tough fight this year, and with Olsen moving into the Masters class for the rest of the season, I’ve got it.”
One Motorsport makes immediate impact
Menczer’s clean sweep was part of another storyline that developed throughout the weekend– the immediate success of Jeff Shafer’s One Motorsport team. The IMSA Prototype Challenge series outfit had a homecoming of sorts at Road Atlanta, returning to national Radical competition for the first time since 2014, providing support to Spring Mountain Motor Resort drivers.
Each of the team’s three West Coast based drivers found the top step of the podium over the weekend, with perhaps the most impressive performance coming from freshman Shahin Mobine. Setting the fastest lap in the 1500 class during race one, Shahin won the Gulf Racing Fuel ‘Legend in the making’ award and the class pole for race two. While relinquishing the lead to Thomas through turn one, Mobine never gave up and fought back on lap 11 with what Thomas described as a “courageous pass on the inside of turn 7. With that critical move Mobine recorded his first ever national Radical series win during his first ever visit to Road Atlanta. Thomas and Robillard completed the race two 1500 class podium.
Mobine’s pace continued in race three. After being gifted the race lead by Thomas who missed a gear in turn 5, Mobine set the fastest lap of the race. Thomas then attempted the undercut, coming in for his mandatory pitstop early, but a full-course caution foiled his plan. Mobine looked set to take his second win of the weekend until he was forced to take a drive through penalty for passing under yellow. This gave One Motorsport teammate Ethan Stone a well deserved win, while Mobine and Thomas salvaged second and third place respectively.
Autobahn drivers set the 1340 benchmark
Success in the 1340 class was also shared between drivers, predominantly between the two top drivers from Team Stradale Radical Midwest’s stable and Radical Canada’s finest. Jeff Green capitalized on the demise of pole sitter and fellow Autobahn Country Club member Antoine Comeau in race one to take a convincing win, finishing eleven seconds clear of 2016 class champion Drew Heffring. The WISKO Racing driver, who was the only none Stradale or Canada driver to finish on the podium, conceded he “just can’t match the pace of the front runners for some reason this weekend”.
Third in race one was Canadian Dan Earle, who matched that performance in race two, while Comeau retaliated, taking the win over Green by just eight-tenths. Yet even though he finished on the top step Comeau hadn’t set the fastest lap. That honor went to fifth placed Canadian Tyson Bytzek, earning him class pole for the final race and the final Gulf Racing Fuels “Legend in the making” award of the weekend.
As the order shuffled thanks to a combination of race three’s mandatory pitstop and a subsequent safety car, Bytzek didn’t fair well and had to settle for third place. The winner out of the pandemonium on pitlane was Jeff Green, who managed to re-enter the track just in front of the safety car to secure his second win of the weekend over Antoine Comeau.
Jeff Green leaves the weekend in command of the 1340 class championship, while Richard Thomas and Jesse Menczer lead the 1500 and Masters classes respectively.
Open to all Radical owners, the Radical North American Masters Championship now heads to Watkins Glen, NY (May 12-14) for Round 2. This event, which will also act as Round 1 for the Radical Canada Cup. The series then tackles Virginia International Raceway, VA (June 2-4), and Laguna Seca, CA (June 23-25), before culminating at Circuit of the Americas, TX (Sept 1-3). Non-championship rounds will also be held at Autobahn Country Club, IL (Oct 21-22), Sonoma Raceway (TBA), and Barber Motorsports Park, AL (Nov 19-20). Registration for all remaining events is open and series information including the entry form and rules can be downloaded here ( https://app.box.com/s/zsoncw0edxcati0aw21qmkigi04kp1bj ).
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RADICAL IN NORTH AMERICA OR THE RADICAL NORTH AMERICAN MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIP VISIT RADICALSPORTSCARS.COM, CALL +1 (404) 825 2641 OR EMAIL TOM.DREWER@RADICALSPORTSCARS.COM